


soda makes you See Faster

by Omness



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Gen, Soda, sorry half life fandom but once hlvrai has its one fandom tag I'll be out of your hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25387726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omness/pseuds/Omness
Summary: While resting after losing his arm, Gordon learns from Tommy what seeing faster actually means.
Relationships: Tommy Coolatta & Gordon Freeman
Comments: 5
Kudos: 132





	soda makes you See Faster

“Mr. Freeman look out!” Tommy yelped, and before Gordon could react, Tommy body slammed into him, managing to knock his 225 pounds plus HeV suit weight over through what must’ve been adrenaline alone.

Stunned from the impact of hitting the ground, Gordon could only watch as a headcrab came flying around the corner of the hallway the two of them were about to turn down. Tommy was not so slowed and rolled off of Gordon and stood up in one easy motion, shooting at the headcrab with his usual ‘bang!bang!bang!’ that seemed too quick to be possible and killing the thing as it squeaked it’s final death throes.

“Thanks Tommy,” Gordon said with tired gratefulness, “You saved me.” He then turned to push himself up with his hands, but flinched at the emptiness of where his right hand should be, then let out a strangled scream as his stump hit the ground, causing sparks to appear in his eyes.

Gordon panted heavily, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to get a handle on the pain, leaning his weight onto his left arm.

“Are you okay Mr. Freeman?” Tommy asked, his steps echoing as he drew near.

Gordon gritted his teeth, did he look okay? He had been missing an arm for who knows how long, losing blood, curled up in pain on the floor, and would probably die from bleeding out before he could give that Benry guy a piece of his mind.

He was about to yell all of this out, but when Goron opened his eyes, he saw Tommy’s genuinely worried face (though his gun was still pointed straight at him) and any angry steam he had been building up left him in a woosh. Instead he sighed and waved Tommy’s worry (and his gun) away with his stump, “I’ll be fine Tommy. Just help me over to that corner over there would you? I need a few moments before we continue and I‘d like to see anything coming to kill us before it actually can.” Gordon said, and after a few moments of silence, “Uh, please.”

Tommy didn’t say anything, but he nodded and tucked his shoulder into Gordon’s armpit, grabbed him around the chest and lifted him up with alarming alacrity, causing Gordon to stumble as they stood.

“You’re uh, pretty strong, aren’t you?” Gordon stated purposelessly, as Tommy helped him over to the corner where the corridor took a ninety degree right turn.

“Yeah.” Tommy said simply.

“Probably not as strong as Dr. Coomer though.” Gordon continued, almost as if Tommy hadn’t said anything, “He’s got quite the set of arms, wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of his fists. Hey do you think Dr. Coomer was in on the jumping me plan? He didn’t seem to be plotting, but he didn’t really help me either.”

Gordon continued to ramble while Tommy said nothing, settling the man down into the corner and arranging some nearby boxes into some semblance of shelter while still allowing them to see down either hallway. Once he was satisfied, Tommy sat down next to Gordon with a grin, “There! Now we’re as comfy as two peas in a pod!”

“I… don’t think that’s how the saying goes,” Gordon said. Then he was hit with a bout of lightheadedness and had to put his head between his knees and lifted his stump above his heart to hopefully not pass out, “Nevermind. Thanks for the help Tommy.”

“No problem Mr. Freeman!” Tommy responded cheerfully, “I like to help people out!”

“Good for you buddy.” Gordon praised without much thought, too focused on the way his vision seemed to darken and swim.

Gordon refused to collapse here, not yet. For one, this place wasn’t very fortified for a rest, and for another, he wasn’t going to risk dying while unconscious without confronting the rest of the science team. So he did his best to fight the encroaching darkness in his vision, shutting his eyes tight, because that seemed to help with the dizziness.

His focus was interrupted by a quiet ‘crack!’ and then a soft ‘hiss’ of air. Gordon turned his head to see that Tommy had popped open a soda and had started to sip at it.

“Another soda?” Gordon asked, “The rate at which you consume those  _ cannot _ be good for you.”

“I don’t normally drink quite as many,” Tommy admitted, “But I need the extra help to protect you Mr. Freeman!”

Before Gordon could even parse how to ask what Tommy meant, the other man turned to him with a smile, holding out his soda as if offering it, “You should have a soda. Maybe it’ll help you see faster too!”

Gordon stared at the soda can, baffled and amused, “You said that before and I still don’t know what you mean. How is soda supposed to help you ‘see faster’? It’s never happened to me before.”

Tommy’s face fell, “That’s okay, people usually don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Then silence fell over them. Tommy chose not to elaborate further and instead continued to sip at his soda. Gordon waited for something to interrupt his attempt at recovery, but the hallways remained clear and empty of threats. Everything was peaceful.

Tommy was about two-thirds done with his soda when Gordon couldn’t take it anymore and had to say something, anything, to fill the quiet. “So what does ‘seeing faster’ mean anyway?”

There was still quiet. But this time it was Tommy’s usual quiet that left Gordon wondering if Tommy hadn’t heard him, was thinking, or was just plain ignoring him.

“Tommy?” Gordon tried again.

“It means you see through time faster.” Tommy explained.

Gordon snorted, “Now I’m more confused. How does that even work?”

Tommy looked at him, waiting silently. Then answered, “It’s actually pretty complicated to explain. But I just experience time sooner than other people when I drink soda.”

“Experience time sooner huh…” Gordon trailed off as his face scrunched up in thought, memories being dredged up in his brain. “Is that how you knew the headcrab was coming before it came around the corner?”

“.................”

“Tommy?” Gordon asked, slightly annoyed.

“You’re correct Mr. Freeman! Normally I’d give you a reward, but all my tic-tacs got left behind.”

“I appreciate the thought Tommy,” Gordon said, then continued speaking as if to himself, “Seeing time faster huh? That sounds useful.” Gordon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he pushed himself to his feet, as he stood he was struck by a momentary dizziness, but managed to remain on his feet as the worst of it passed, “Alright, I think I’m as recovered as I’m gonna get without some med station help. We should head out.”

As Gordon was talking, Tommy stood up, crushing his empty soda can and tossing it away to pull out a gun instead, “You got it Mr. Freeman.”

“Though this time I think you should lead.”

Tommy nodded and headed down the corridor, gun held in front of him. Gordon followed behind, but they had barely made it ten feet before a thought struck him, “Wait, if you see faster does that mean you know what I’m going to say before-”

“Yes I do.” Tommy said, “But it’s rude to interrupt people when they’re speaking, so I wait until I think they’re done. It’d be like cicadas at a wedding,” Tommy glanced back over his shoulder, “Though I’m awful at timing it. So I usually wait extra long to respond.”

“Huh, guess that’s why you’re so quiet all the time.”

There was a pause, then Tommy smiled enigmatically, “Something like that.”

“Do you-”

Before Gordon could finish his sentence, Tommy called out, “Get down Mr. Freeman!” and then several peeper puppies teleported into existence in front of them, their sound blasts charging. Now too distracted by survival to ask anything else, Gordon dropped Tommy’s ability to see faster into the gigantic growing pile of  _ other _ oddities he had learned about Black Mesa since the resonance cascade.

After all, what was one drop of water in something the size of an ocean?


End file.
